BF2142: Q&A on the Upcoming Patch 1.50

I sorta' got frustrated with BF2142 while waiting that long ass stretch for the 1.4 patch to actually come out, but every so often I do get an urge to reinstall (same with BF2). Anyhoo, this Q&A from EA about 1.50 managed to tickle my fancy:

[Battlefield 2142] Q&A covering the upcoming Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50

. What new content will we see in Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50?

A. As well as a number of bug fixes and tweaks based on community feedback we are going to be releasing two new maps created by community members. Wake Island makes its return to Battlefield PC thanks to the guys at Sir. Community and a map which you may have heard of called Anzio will be appearing with a name change as Operation Shingle created by Jason Brice. We are also bringing a No Vehicles option to a number of 2142 maps for those players who want to fight it out on foot as well as allowing you to access 16:9 and 16:10 resolutions for those widescreen monitors. We also heard your cries for movement in pods to be re-introduced on transport ship escape pods so we have been working on giving that back to you while still limiting pod surfing use.

Q. How did you select the community maps to include in Update 1.50?

A. Both maps we decided to include in Update 1.50 were selected from a wide choice of maps that are out there in the community, it was felt they brought something new to Battlefield 2142 and although some of you will have seen them before in previous forms, they have now been updated and are new maps to Battlefield 2142. Both groups have worked closely with DICE Live and have gone through extensive testing to get the best balance and Battlefield experience from the maps. Wake Island 2142 also holds a little twist to the way Conquest game mode is usually played so watch out for that.

Q. When will Battlefield 2142 Update 1.50 be released?

A. Update 1.50 will be released for public beta in the not too distant future and is there to get your feedback as well as run checks on server stability. Visit www.battlefield.com for more announcements regarding the beta and launch and leave your feedback on the forums.

Ahh, COD4, when will you be getting vehicles?

And now to check on that Crysis/MechWarrior MOD!

Battlefield Heroes: Closed Beta Clarifications

If you visited EA's "Battlefield Heroes" website yesterday like me to check in on the closed beta, you are equally as guilty as me of 1) breaking the website and 2) being tricked! TRICKED I SAY!

So here is their official explanation of the Beta process.

Closed Beta Clarification May 6

Hello Heroes!

As you may have noticed, you killed our website. We are not angry. We’re very pleased you want to be in the Beta.

The beta for Heroes will be divided into several stages, the first of which is all about testing out this new way of getting games to you all; by downloading and installing them from a website. We’ll also be trying out some other dull stuff to do with servers, so we are expecting the systems to be down as much as they are up.

To help us track down all the technical issues, we have asked a third party to find us some specialist Beta testers. We are doing all this because we want to be sure that when we launch Heroes, everything will work smoothly.

So hang in there! We will announce here when it’s time to sign up for the public stage of the Beta.

Goodman
Community Manager

Battlefield Heroes: Customisation/Latest Gameplay Video & Beta Info

It looks kinda' cute. But when it comes to FPSes, cute really belongs in "Hello Kitty Land."

Of course, since it's free, I'll be more than happy to try it out.

Speaking of trying it out, keep an eye on this page for the closed beta coming up May 6th, 2008:

http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/beta

Battlefield Heroes: Trailer Revealed!

EA/DICE released the above trailer recently (though the copy on their official website doesn't seem to enjoy loading):

Battlefield Heroes Trailer Released! Feb 29

Ben Cousins, Senior Producer

Hello Heroes!

The Battlefield Heroes team - sitting in our little fishtank in Stockholm - are very proud to show you the first trailer of the game today, available in the video section of this site. I’m sure you are interested in seeing the gameplay footage and explanation of the experience, but I’m personally more excited about people starting to drop the term “businessivity” into normal conversation.

Versions of this movie have been around since before summer last year, and it has done a lot to get people excited inside and outside of EA, so it’s great to finally see a public reaction. It’s not so nice to see that one of our “trusted” media outlets broke the embargo yesterday meaning everyone saw the crappy YouTube version first… but anyway.

There should be some press previews and some on-camera interviews of me and James (the guy playing Rock band so expertly in the video) hitting the web right now, so get searching! Also, please leave your opinions on the movie in the comments thread below.

Yes, it looks hella' cartoony, but I'm still gonna' give it a go. After all, 1) it's free, 2) running people over with cartoon tanks is humiliation death and 3) I need less stress from the morons who after playing COD4 since November, still don't understand the point of Sabotage.

Plus, I'll need something to do when AOC is patching, right?

Wahahahaha.

EA pushes ad-backed video games

The image picture in the article reminds me of Team Fortress 2, and judging from the success of that, perhaps that's what EA's going for in Heroes? I just hope Heroes isn't the "BF3" that people have been whispering about...

On the plus side, it's free (the billboards never bothered me since I very rarely paid attention to anything that didn't involve not getting killed), and more people will be able to play it but...I kinda' want to see a real sequel. As much as people criticize EA, I really did enjoy the BF series (I didn't play "Bad Company") so I'll keep my fingers crossed. :)

EA pushes ad-backed video games

Battlefield Heroes is designed to run on older PCs

Electronic Arts is to release a free online version of the popular Battlefield game to be supported by adverts and micro payments.

The PC game, Battlefield Heroes, will be available only online later this year, and will not be sold in shops.

The move marks EA's first major attempt to tap into new sources of ad-driven revenue in Western markets.

The firm has a free version of its Fifa game in South Korea, earning more than $1m a month through in-game sales.

"Online gaming has a massive audience," said EA's Gerhard Florin, in a statement.

"People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play."

Digital distribution

The video games industry is taking its first steps away from a retail-focused sales environment and towards digital distribution.

Battlefield is a highly-successful series for EA and Dice

EA hopes the model of a free game as download that is supported by adverts and micro-payments could be applied to other franchises it owns.

The new version of Battlefield is designed to have more mass market appeal than current titles in the series, which have sold about 10 million copies worldwide.

The games has a "cartoon-feel" and has been made simpler to play, with more emphasis on participation and fun than skill and strategy.

Ben Cousins, senior producer at Dice, told BBC News that no adverts would be appear in the game itself.

"They wouldn't work inside the fictional world. Instead, adverts will appear on the website and the 'front-end' of the game."

Gamers will be able to buy items which customise their appearance in the world, but will not be able to seek an advantage through buying weapons.

Mr Cousins said Battlefield Heroes was about exploring new revenue models as well as making a game more accessible.

You will be able to play this game on grandma's laptop Ben Cousins, Dice

"I've always felt there was some really good fun core gameplay which was locked away by several barriers to entry: the game is complex, it is full of skilled people, you need quite a high-end PC on which to play and you need to go to store to purchase a copy."

"We're removing all barriers to entry and we hope there is broader audience for the title. You will be able to play this game on grandma's laptop."

Mr Cousins said EA expected 95% of people who played the game never to spend any money.

"If you look at Korea and Asia this is a model that works. Given the enormous explosion in web-based gaming products, this is going to be a real source of growth in the industry and Battlefield Heroes is the first step towards doing that in West."

Here is the official website:

http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/

So many disappointments today, so little time.

Battlefield 2142 1.4 Final Candidate Beta Released

Battlefield 2142 1.4 Final Candidate Beta Released

Feedback from the community on the betas for Battlefield 2142 Update 1.4 has been invaluable in making sure it's fully up to standard . Since beta 2 we've been tuning the fixes and changes based on this feedback. But there's one more thing we want to make certain is solid, and that's server stability. To test this, we're releasing this beta file that is a candidate for the final 1.4 Update. If all goes well with this beta release this will be the version subsequently rolled out to Ranked Server Providers.

This beta will be running on a limited number of servers to make sure they're packed out at full capacity and being thoroughly tested. You can download the beta file here. Once again, thank you all for your beta feedback, we really appreciate it.

HOW MANY BETA VERSIONS DO YOU NEED!? Seriously.

Battlefield: A Wittle BF3 Gossip

It's a bit old, but since I reinstalled I figured I'd start keeping up again. I think I enjoy BF2142 more, but then again, I have to get back into BF2. (I stopped playing before "Road to Jahalabad" so it's been a logn time.) Anyhoo, 2 just plays so different than the games out right now--I got yelled at for bunny hopping accidentally because durrh, I had just finished a round in UT3 before playing BF2. *sad face*

The biggest system shock? The too many class trees in 2. I definitely prefer the compact trees in 2142. I was getting crushed by a tank so I got into Engineer kit and was utterly confused--WHERE'S MY GODDAMN PILUM!?--and ended up dead in a 1/4 of a second flat. Arrgghhh, the vehicle maps in 2 are just out of control! Ah well, maybe BF3 will be more refined if...IF...the following information is true:

Breaking: Battlefield 3 Leaked Info

October 9, 2007

A tipster sent us PDF document which looked like an outline of features for Battlefield 3. The three page document is apparently prepared for investors which should get it by December of this year. It details basic features of BF3, and are as listed:

* Release in late 2008
* Powered by “Frostbite DX”
* Set in year modern day (just like BF2, ed.)
* Will ship with 8 maps, each supporting up to 40-players per team
* Two playable factions, NATO and MEC (Middle Eastern Coalition)
* Same “ticket-based” gameplay style as before
* Maps are mostly urban, based in Middle East
* Squads and Commanders are present, introduced are “Battalions” which consist of three to four squads.
* Five playable classes; Sniper, Assault, Engineer, Medic and Support
* Will feature 48 different vehicles (24 for each faction)
* Will feature 34 different weapons (17 for each faction) and another 22 unlocks (for both factions), in total 56 different weapons.
* Other unlocks include different types of ammunition, body armor, helmets, camouflage and accessories.
* Possible public beta in “Summer 2008″
* Online stats tracking, awards and “real world ranks”
* “Soldier” feature, looks like MMO-styled characters and avatars
* Ranked servers will be available for resellers weeks before the game ships (for testing, apparently, ed.)
* In-game replay and recording feature
* VoIP, friends list, in-game IM-client and “extensive clan support”
* Built-in auto software updater (no more patches!, ed.)
* Widows Vista and OS X (no XP?!, ed.)
* Announcement and teaser trailer in January 2008.

A map is mentioned by name, called “Baghdad Burning”, and appears to be a massive urban map, similar to BF2’s very popular “Strike at Karkand”. The game is powered by “Frostbite DX”, currently the Frostbite engine is used in Battlefield: Bad Company on PS3 and Xbox 360. The “DX” could refer to DirectX (10?), a PC version of the Frostbite engine.

Please note that none of this is confirmed, we’ve emailed a few people from EA and DICE (Battlefield developers) and will update the article as soon as we know more. Also note that we cannot, for obvious (legal) reasons, release the PDF document. Stay tuned for more info.

[Update 1] A few wanted to know if the document mentions in-game advertising, it does not, but wouldn’t be surprising, considering BF2142 had in-game advertising.

[Update 2] EA responded to the rumor with a “no comment” statement. Still waiting for a reply from DICE (which will probably be the same).

[Update 3] For clarification, the document doesn’t say that XP is not supported, it only lists Vista and OS X.

[Update 4] Further investigation reveals that EA DICE owns the domain “battlefield3.com” (not so important, since it was registered in 2004, so was battlefield4.com etc.). Still no reply from DICE. Stay tuned for further updates.
[Update 5] EA and DICE have responded to the rumor.

The site loads up really slow for some reason, so a little patience is needed to read the actual page which reads:

EA And DICE Respond To BF3 Rumors

October 11, 2007

EA and Battlefield developer DICE (Digital Illusions CE) have responded to the Battlefield 3 rumors we posted yesterday. As expected, we (and many other sites) got the usual no reply comment from EA, while a representative from DICE’s Swedish office said something similar:

“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation. Currently announced titles from DICE are Battlefield Bad Company and Mirror’s Edge, you’ll hear from us officially as soon as we have anything further to announce. For any future announcements regarding Battlefield keep an eye on battlefield.com”

Usually companies tend to just deny any rumors regarding future projects, but “No comment” replies usually indicate some concern at the the company. We’re further investigating the rumor and will post updates as soon as we have anything new.

I for one wouldn't mind seeing a Vista version of BF though now that I've been spoiled by the gorgeousness of Crysis.

I'll keep my fingers crossed in the meanwhile.

Battlefield 2: I'm Back!

Having lost faith in BF2142, I reinstalled BF2. Let the fun begin! I haven't played for a long ass time...so I hope I still remember which button lets me do the pew pew.

But first, I gotta remember my stupid ass login....

UPDATE: Woot, Purple Heart be mine!

Battlefield 2142 Update 1.4 Beta 2 Released!

It's out...but it's still BETA. Of course, but now, I don't care. Too bad so sad.

Battlefield 2142 Update 1.4 Beta 2

This beta includes the new Highway Tampa map brought to you by Intel in cooperation with DICE. This beta will be run for a shorter period of time, ending Monday October 8th. We will then work towards the final non-beta release. The full list of changes is as follow.

FEATURES

- Added a new map, Highway Tampa.

- Added an autosave to kit customisations. After you customise a kit and spawn in with that kit, the customisation will be automatically saved until you change it and spawn in again. Note that you must spawn in with a particular kit for it to be saved.
- Titans will now spawn up to two gunships per side
- Squad Leaders no longer have to resupply to re-equip destroyed drones


FIXES

- Exploit Fix: hardcoded the time limits of Orbital and EMP strikes.
- RDX Shotgun now detonates RDX, Motion Mines, AP Mines with minimum of 2 rounds.
- Ported EU Assault Rifle changes to the Best Buy unlock as well.
- Fixed LMG Left/Right Recoil
- Revised EU Assault Rifle Recoil
- Increased Clark rate of fire to match Herzog
- Fixed PAC shotgun attachment recoil to match other Herzogs
- Further adjustment to Squad Leader drones to prevent them accidentally killing the Squad Leader when deployed
- Further fix to prevent "pod surfing". Note that some pod movement will still be possible and is an intended gameplay mechanic to allow the player to have some small choice of landing site and to access rooftops
- Smoke from the CM3-N Radar Grenade deploys more quickly. The Radar range has been slightly increased and endures for the duration of the smoke effect.
- The CM3-N Radar Grenade may now be resupplied.
- The screening effectiveness of all smoke grenades has been significantly improved.
- Adjusted Talon heat source position to improve Gunship missile balance.
- Beta Feedback: Fixed the placement of an AA gun on Highway Tampa
- Beta Feedback: Improved the visuals of the swimming pool on Highway Tampa

Note that if you are running the first beta you should remove that Battlefield 2142 install support.ea.com before proceeding with this second beta update. You can download Battlefield 2142 Update 1.4 Beta 2 here.

Battlefield: Bad Company Trailer

Since it's getting closer, for those of us that still don't hate EA/DICE, here is that old ass trailer for the (eww) console Battlefield, "Bad Company." If they actually have teh funnehs in the game, I will probably play it since I like the other BF titles:

The big deal about this (other than it being for the console), are the destructible environments.

Right now, BBC has a March 2008 projected released date. XD But before that, I would like to see BF: 1776. Take some musket head shot to the face, red coat!!